BRUSSELS (Realist English). The European Union’s proposed ban on coal imports from Russia is expected to come into force no earlier than August — a month later than expected. This is reported by CNBC referring to sources.
The original plan was to phase out coal imports within three months. This period has now been extended to four months, which means that the ban will be fully implemented before this coming August.
Germany is one of the most skeptical countries when it comes to blocking energy supplies from Russia. But not the only one. Austria and Hungary are also in opposition.
“There seems to have been an effective German lobby to extend the phase-out period for existing coal contracts to four months.” an EU representative confirmed to CNBC.
In 2020, Germany bought 21.5% of its coal from Russia. According to the European Statistical Office, Germans buy up to 35.2% of their consumed oil and up to 58.9% of natural gas from Russia.
According to the official European statistics, Russia accounted for more than 19% of EU coal imports in 2020. 36.5% of the oil consumed by the European Union and 41.1% of the gas are also of Russian origin.
On April 11, EU foreign ministers will discuss a ban on oil supplies, but so far they are unlikely to promote such a measure, since, to impose further sanctions, it is necessary to reach a consensus among all 27 member states.
